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The wedding reception is an integral part of the entire experience of getting married since it sets the tone of the entire wedding day. So of course, you want it to be perfect in every detail; however, planning the ideal reception can be a difficult, hectic experience. Here are a few tips to help make your planning easier.

Budgeting for your Reception

A wedding reception commonly makes up as much as half of your total wedding budget. While the common belief is that you can reduce your reception costs by cutting down on the number of guests, in fact, 60% of the total budget for the reception is consumed by the fixed costs of the wedding. These fixed costs include the wedding wardrobe and accessories, the cost of renting the private event space, party favours, photography or videography and the honeymoon. Hence, reducing the costs of the reception involves not cutting down the number of guests but finding creative ways to decrease the fixed costs without having to sacrifice the quality of your wedding. Remember, a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and so you want to celebrate it with as many of your loved ones as possible.

Creative Ways to Save

There are many creative ways to reduce the costs of your wedding reception. One is to buy less-expensive wedding keepsakes, but give them a personal touch by adding short notes addressed directly to the guest. Another is to go for less-elaborate, but still delicious, wedding cakes. Instead of buying a fancy cake, you can combine a smaller tiered cake with a decorated sheet cake, and then add decorations to marry them together. You can also save by limiting the use of fresh flowers at the reception and supplement them with realistic-looking silk flowers. Remember, flowers can make up as much as 15% of the total cost of a wedding.

The Venue

Of course, the private event space where the event will be held is very important. You can save money on the rental of the venue by holding your wedding during the off-season for weddings. The most popular month for weddings is June, followed by May, September and October. You can also save money by holding the reception in the afternoon rather than during the evening, since the food will be lighter and you can also hold off on serving alcohol, as most people only start drinking during evenings.

Selecting a Venue

Naturally, you should not neglect the basics when selecting a private event space to hold your wedding reception. You have to consider the size of the venue, if it is available on the date of your wedding, the decor, if the venue can provide food and drinks, the cost of rental including extra charges, if any, how much parking is available, if overnight accommodations are readily available for your out-of-town guests and if the venue has an in-house wedding coordinator who will help ensure that everything runs smoothly during the reception.